I've just spoken at a national conference of a UK organisation, charged with giving a "motivational and inspiring talk" to the teams. Prior to my slot, the audience had been on the receiving end of a variety of talks from key senior members of their company, designed to inform them about the business and the year ahead.
Every one of them majored on telling the 150 people assembled there that 2011 was going to be tough. Was going to be difficult. Was going to be challenging. As each person said their bit, I saw the audience shuffling, squirming and sinking further down in their chairs.
After almost 3 hours, it was my turn and I talked to them about "Attitude determines Altitude" - i.e. How high you can fly will be a direct result of how high you BELIEVE you can fly.
Okay, the world economy has taken a hit. But we are where we are. If we sit around continually telling people how awful everything is, how challenging everything is – seriously, do you expect people to be inspired by that? To be motivated by that? To be spurred on to take massive, positive action?
There has never been a time when there have been no challenges of one sort or another. But whatever the circumstances, the people who seem to fare best are those who look for ways over, around, underneath or through the obstacles that get in the way of their visions and goals.
First things first, they expect there to be obstacles and challenges, but they're not deterred by them. They're defined by their attitudes which determine to keep focused, keep moving, keep taking action and keep their eye on the overall goal.
What you tell yourself and what you tell others has a powerful effect on how we all approach our day, our work, our relationships, our goals. Is what you're saying inspiring you or others to stretch more, step up more, overcome more, be more? Or is it demoralising them? Is it creating a sense of anticipation, or a sense of despair? Does it make people want to fly – or stay firmly on the ground?
Attitude determines altitude. Just like a pilot has to negotiate flight paths, birds, thermals, turbulence, weather conditions – his or her attitude determines the path of that plane. Whether they have to rise above the turbulence…..or duck down underneath it. They keep their eye and focus on their desired destination, but adjust and work with the obstacles, rather than against them, so they reach their destination on time, intact and safe.
Life is exactly the same. We all have to make adjustments to negotiate the turbulence life can throw at us sometimes. But if we stay focused on our goal, our destination and choose the right attitude, flying high doesn't just become a possibility, it becomes a probability.
So how high do you want to fly?
Attitude Determines Altitude
5 Leadership Practices to Enhance your Life!
I work a lot with Kouzes and Posner's 5 leadership practices, taken from their book and website, "The Leadership Challenge". The reasons I like them are:
a) they've been researched right across the world, so they apply to all cultures
b) they're simple to apply in both work AND life
c) I love the word "practices" – it means that we can all practice them and get better at them!
The 5 practices are:
Model the Way - being the best role model you can be. Being someone to look up to; to respect; to admire; clearly demonstrating your own personal values and principles
Inspiring a Shared Vision - having a future goal, idea or vision which you're moving towards and inspiring others to join in with you/support you on the journey
Challenge the Process - having a healthy dissatisfaction with what is. Taking a risk, experimenting with something new, learning new things, moving away from your comfort blanket
Enabling Others to Act - collaborating with others; sharing your expertise and learning from others; giving people what they need in order to thrive
Encourage the Heart - showing belief, faith, trust and support in others, especially when the going is tough. Being an awesome cheerleader. Showing people they can win
As you read through that list, I know that there will have been at least one of the practices which you know is your strength, and I also know that as you were reading, one of them sprang out for you as an area you're currently not so "hot" in.
Ideas for Action
- Identify which of the 5 practices you believe you're strongest in. What are three things you could do this week to capitalize on this strength and make a real, positive difference to yourself, or someone/thing else?
- Identify which of the 5 practices you believe you need to work on the most. What are three things you could do this week (including one thing TODAY) that would make a real, positive difference in this area – and enable you to feel really proud of yourself when you've achieved them?
- In the words of Nike – Just Do It!
Choice and Circumstance
Spring is the time for new life, for sowing seeds and for spring cleaning. Whereas we tend to turn our attention to things such as our homes, our files, our diaries, our gardens, it is just as important to sow fresh seeds in our life and minds. Get the dust out, the cobwebs, the negative self talk – a spring clean of our minds! In doing so, we approach this spring – and indeed the rest of the year – with a real sense of hope and a real sense of desire and a real sense of ‘this is going to be a positive, productive and fruitful time.’ I really hope that you’re up for that. I certainly am 
What triggered this post was a quote I recently came across from George Bernard Shaw: "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them."
Wow. Now that could have been said by any motivational speaker/coach today, but this came from a book written by George Bernard Shaw in the nineteenth century. I love that the wisdom of it still rings true today.
In order to get the best out of ourselves – and inspire others to do the same – we need to look at where we're at and how we're responding to where that is, irrespective of the circumstances around us. Are we applying ourselves in the best possible way? Or resigning ourselves to the "fact" we cannot change the circumstances we're in? In order to maximise our potential in any situation, good or bad, we must look at how to apply ourselves in the best possible way so we became the success story in the situation.
Although we can all find ourselves in situations we wouldn't necessarily choose, the choice we do have is in how we respond to those situations.
How are you responding?
